Overview of Nevada Testing Requirements

How to Qualify for Certification

The following basic qualifications apply to all persons requesting licensing in the State of Nevada:

An applicant must be a citizen of the United States or be a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

Degree(s) and credits for courses must have been earned from a regionally accredited college or university.

Foreign transcripts must be accompanied by an original course-by-course and degree equivalency evaluation done by an approved evaluator service before application for licensure is made. Learn more about Acceptance of Foreign Transcripts.

A license is issued based on the evaluation of the applicant's official transcripts.

An applicant must have completed the appropriate number of semester credits of student teaching to qualify for an educator license.

Copies of valid out-of-state educator credentials should be submitted, where applicable.

Original competency testing scores should be sent, such as those administered under the Praxis® program.

Important Information

ETS discontinued paper-delivered testing; however, Praxis tests will continue to be available in a paper-delivered format as required for ADA accommodations. All scores for previously administered paper-delivered tests are reportable for 10 years from the date the test was taken.

Nevada requires a Social Security Number (SSN) in order to process educator certification paperwork. The SSN is the sole identifier for an applicant's information. Failure to provide your SSN will delay the uploading of ETS test scores. ETS does not require your SSN for its own purposes, but will submit it to Nevada with your test results. Test takers that do not include their Social Security numbers are required to hand deliver or mail their scores to the Nevada Department of Education, Office of Teacher Licensure.

If you test in Nevada, your score report will be sent automatically to the Nevada Department of Education. If you test outside of Nevada, select the Nevada Department of Education (state code 8670) as a score recipient when you register or on an additional score report request.

Who Must Take the Tests?

All applicants for initial licensing in Nevada are required to take the following competency tests, which are administered under the Praxis program:

Praxis® Core Academic Skills for Educators (Core)

The Core tests are available in a computer-delivered format.

Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT)

The PLT is required for all subject areas, with the exception of the Elementary Education endorsement. The applicable PLT for subjects in Grades K–6 or Grades 7–12 must be matched to the grade level you will teach. Only one PLT is required (choice of level) for a K–12 subject area endorsement.